Sun Kissed
by Calerna
Summary: Leah Clearwater's life was full of should haves, would haves, and could haves. But there was never any was or had. It was Emily Uley, not Leah Uley, as it should've been. It was Leah Clearwater; not Emily Young. ThreeShot.
1. Sun Kissed

"He doesn't look a thing like Jesus, but he talks like a gentleman, like you imagined when you were young."

Three-Shot Drabble (The next two might not be a drabbles)

Pairing: Leah X Sam

Inspiration: The Killers

* * *

Sun Kissed

How ironic was it that the person to bring her into redemption was the very same who had brought her destruction.

She couldn't smile, no matter how hard she tried. The photographer was shouting and her mother was pleading, and she really didn't want to ruin the photos, but she failed. Just like all of her other failures—she wondered why she even bothered trying. She tried to make the line of her mouth tilt up, but it was impossible when she was trying not to cry. It was her dream wedding, but she was in the wrong place. Instead of at the altar, she was standing off to the side, watching it unfold before her weary eyes.

She should've been the _bride_, not her cousin's bridesmaid. She'd been his fiancée once. She tried as hard as she could to not remember, but Leah _was_ a failure. He'd proposed when they'd been sifting through college applications.

_"Marry me, Leah. When we're done with college. We'll stay on the reservation or go anywhere you like—and we'll raise a family together."_

She swallowed; a bitter taste. It was always bitter around Sam and Emily. They both had never tried. Sam hadn't tried to stop his imprint, and Emily hadn't tried to refuse him. She hated them both. She'd been forced to attend the wedding, ordered by her mother and alpha. Jacob at first had refused to order her around—_"I'm not like Sam."—_but he couldn't resist the pleading of Sue, Billy and Emily. So as a result, she was standing in a one-time only gown, hatred coursing through her and hands shaking in shock and anger. She would stand out like a sore thumb in the wedding photos, but she didn't care. Why was the world so cruel?

Leah couldn't keep from falling to the ground in anguish as the 'Just Married!' sign on the back of the black car borrowed from the Cullens faded from view. Tears ran down her face, ruining her makeup, and she _hated_ her mother. She screamed and told her so, along with Sam, Emily, Billy and Jacob Black. Jacob gathered her into his arms as she kicked and thrashed, on the verge of exploding into a wolf. He pulled her into the woods, where she yelled and sobbed, but he didn't blame her, nor was he angry at her. He knew exactly how she felt, and he hated himself too.

What she didn't know was that Emily and Sam had seen the whole thing, and Sam had heard it.


	2. Sun Touched

Three-Shot

Pairing: Leah X Sam

Inspiration: The Killers

Yeah, I originally planned for it to be a twoshot, but as I was writing I decided a three-shot would be better.

* * *

Sun Touched

Sam was the one smiling bitterly now. He turned to the flaking table, the product of many nights of frustration. He was sitting in _his_ house now, gazing out the window at the turbulent sea. It was like his life, he reflected. It was chaotic, unpredictable, and still peaceful. The Cullens had stayed, and after several tense months had agreed to write the treaty again. Renesmee's rapid growth slowed, much to Edward's and Bella's relief.

Their happy ending didn't turn out like it was supposed to. They'd only been married a few years before they abruptly fell out of love. It was unexplainable—it seemed the imprint wasn't impossible to break after all. He loved Emily; she loved him. But somewhere along the line they fell apart. They just drifted away from each other, and even though he still felt guilty for the jagged scars marring her face, she just smiled and told him it was _fine_. And she really didn't hate him for it. In the end, they thanked each other for the short years of passion and seemingly everlasting love…and it was love. They just weren't made for each other, like they and everyone else previously believed. He wondered if his pull to Leah—his supposed to be soul mate had overpowered the imprint.

He couldn't deny he still loved her, no. He desperately tried not to for Emily's sake. But when he woke up yelling and sometimes crying her name, Emily cradling him in her arms and trying to soothe him, he knew she'd heard him calling for Leah. He would murmur Emily's name in his sleep, but he pleaded for Leah in his dreams too. He would sometimes settle back into bed and whisper fervent apologies, but sometimes he would tear away and head downstairs, where his hands would grip the table so hard it almost shattered under many occasions. He was a mess. Emily was too fragile; too breakable, as demonstrated by the scars.

In the end, after they signed the divorce papers and she moved out, they parted as true friends. There were still many things they couldn't fix, like the scars and what they had done to Leah, but she told him everything would get better. There was nothing to heal but old guilt and pain from ruthlessly tearing Leah apart…and the vague missing each-other that lasted a month.

He swallowed thickly, running a frustrated hand through his hair. He knew he needed Leah, and she had been the one for him all along. Sure, he had the best chance of reproducing with Emily, but Leah was the one for him. Maybe they both knew they wouldn't last; after all, Leah had been there first. But what they shared hadn't been fake. It was complicated, Sam decided. But first and foremost, he had to find _her_.

* * *

Leah sat bolt upright in bed, panting heavily. She needed to phase, and she needed it _now_. She didn't know why, but she got out of bed anyway, slipping out the window quietly as to not rouse her roommate, and faded into the shadows. She ran across the campus and quickly disappeared into the woods, letting herself instantly fall on all fours. Leah shook her silvery fur out, raising her head to sniff out if there were any animals or humans around. Running into any human would be particularly unwise. She ran for a while, reveling in the feeling of the night breeze running through her fur, breathing the forest scent in deeply. It was beautiful out in the wild, and it vaguely reminded her of her secret spot back home. Thinking of home, she wondered how everyone was doing.

Leah was in her final year of college, the year drawing to a close. She studied law, finding a particular pulling to justice. She had the intelligence to become a detective—or a lawyer, but honestly, she just wanted to go home. She didn't know what she was going to do with her life, but she missed her boys a lot. Even if Leah would never admit it, she missed the constant bickering, she missed the invasion of privacy—well not really, but she did miss scouting as a pack. She stretched; suddenly stiffened. She tilted her nose up into the air, eyes closed and ears doubly alert. She sifted through the many scents in the clearing, locking on one that seemed sort of familiar. Her ears picked up something big lumbering towards her. Her fur ruffled, and a low, warning growl issued from her throat. It was loud enough to reverberate around the trees. Any animal smart enough would stay far away from the threat promised.

There it was again. No—it couldn't be! Believing she'd made a mistake, Leah concentrated even harder. It was closer now, and it kind of smelled like…_him. _She narrowed her eyes, tensing her muscles and widening her senses. She needed to be as alert as possible if it were an enemy. Fifty feet…twenty feet…ten feet…there was no mistaking the smell. It was Sam Uley, alright. She desperately hoped nothing had happened to Sue or Seth.

She watched the hulking mass of black fur pad quietly into the grass, dark eyes locking on her own. Her heart raced in her chest, sick with worry. The Alpha probed into her mind, and she dropped her defenses for him, shock overriding the pain at seeing him again.

_Sam? Why are you here? Are Seth and Sue alright? Did anything happen? _She immediately bombarded him with questions, and to her surprise, he didn't enter mega-bastard mode or assume the slow calmness that got under her skin. His thoughts were fleeting; hesitant.

**_No. _**He sounded sheepish, and that made her frown. She stepped back, examining him curiously.

_Are you on drugs?_

The question was so absurd, blunt, and so completely _Leah_ he laughed, which made a strange sound in his chest. Wolves weren't built to laugh. She frowned—why wasn't he off playing house with his stupid wife and probably equally stupid kids? She couldn't fight off the wince at the last thought, although she quickly hid it from view. But she was too slow—Sam saw anyway.

**_About that…it seems imprints are breakable. _**Her mind reeled.

_Impossible. _You couldn't break imprints…they were there for a reason. A reason she knew all too well. _Stop fucking with me, Sam. Haven't you fucked up my life enough **already**? _She bared her teeth, snarling.

**_No, Leah! Let me explain, please. _**He waited as she mulled it over, hoping against the odds she would stay and listen.

_The hell are you waiting for?! _He smiled. _There_ was the Leah that always presented herself to him. Bitter, angry and bitchy—but it was his fault, after all. _You bet it is. _

**_Emily and I divorced a couple of months ago…and there are no kids. I don't know what happened—the pull to her just disappeared. We fell out of love, and…_** He swallowed with difficulty, whisking his next thoughts away before she could see them.

_What? Get on with it, I don't want to hear **your** sob story, _Leah sneered. He knew he deserved it, but he didn't think it would hurt this much. He needed to tell her the truth now, or he'd live to regret it. _Tell me what?!_

**_Leah…the reason the imprint broke was because of you._**

_Don't you **dare** blame your little fuckup on me, Sam Uley, because it was no fucking way my fault, so don't—_

**_Leah. Be quiet and listen to me. _**He used the Alpha command, and she hated him even more for it. It was the same Alpha command that had been used to force her into Emily's happy, happy wedding where _she_ should've been the bride and Sam wasn't supposed to have turned into a cheating, bastardly shit. **_I didn't want to force you, but you wouldn't have listened otherwise. Leah, it broke because I'm still in love with you. Not Emily. You. _**

She just laughed disbelievingly, believing she was part of some cruel, cruel joke. _Well Sam, I might've believed you, but I don't trust you anymore, so fat chance. _She turned to run away from the man who just _loved_ messing her up every chance he got—and to think she was finally starting to leave it all behind, too.

**_Leah. I know I don't deserve it, but…please. Give me a chance—just one chance._**

_Why should I give you another chance? Tell me, Sam. **You** were the one who didn't even fucking try to love me, you were the one who didn't fucking try to **not** fuck my goddamned cousin of ALL people, so don't you dare come asking for another one. _She turned away from him, seething and incredibly hurt he'd try something like this. Sam Uley always had a way of ruining her life.

**_I'm sorry. I wish I could take it all back, I wish I could make it up to you. God, Leah, I'm sorry. _**As he spoke, she could feel the pain behind it—almost capable of rivaling hers. But he _had _left her, and the truth was she just didn't trust him anymore. She knew she was still in love with Sam, and she thought she always would, but there seemed no logic in giving away her carefully pulled together heart to the same person who had turned it into dust. She eyed him coldly.

_I can't believe you have the nerve to say something like that to me. _

**_It's true. _**Even though she desperately wanted to deny it and **hurt** him the way he'd hurt her, she couldn't deny it. She could see into his fucking mind, and he wasn't lying. **_If you're okay with it, I think we need to talk…in person. _**Several tense moments passed before she walked away, deep into the trees. He phased quickly, throwing on worn jeans and waiting.

She took his breath away.

_Beautiful._

She was only wearing shorts and a loose shirt, but she was still the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen.

"Leah—" her name choked its way out of his mouth. It tore him apart to see her so guarded and wary of him, and he wanted nothing more than to wrap her up in his arms and give his all to her gladly, even if she did nothing with him but break him. He restrained himself, dark eyes drinking her in.

"You wanted to talk," she cut in coldly, nails digging into her flesh. She couldn't deny she loved him. He was wearing the jeans that had been her favorite on him, and Leah's breath caught in her throat.

"I - I'm sorry. So sorry…but I miss you. I love you. I know you don't believe me, and that's okay. I'll do anything if it makes you feel better. I'll let you break me the way I broke you when I left you, and it's possible because I love you." He dropped to his knees, gazing up at her in submission. "I know it isn't enough, but it's all I have. I'm sorry."

She hadn't expected their reunion to be like _this. _One moment she was tough, indestructible Leah, the next reduced half to tears. She watched him bow his head, muscles lax and completely willing to do whatever she wished of him. She had expected him to be the bastard she thought of him now, she expected to be able to yell and scream and fight him to a bloody pulp and walk away, satisfied. But this wasn't what she'd bargained for. She hated herself for it, but all Leah wanted to do was walk over and drop to her knees and hug him and never let go.

"It will never be enough," she said softly. "You will never be able to fix what you've done to me." The agony entered her voice again, but even as she started to unleash the world of hurt and cruel back-lashing, she felt even worse. There was adrenaline in her muted revenge, but it made her feel sick. She didn't want to hurt him, even though she wanted to see him suffer. Instead, she turned away and ran for her life.

* * *

I think it's kinda crappy :/


	3. Sun Drenched

Three-Shot

Pairing: Leah X Sam

Inspiration: The Killers

* * *

Sun Drenched

This was it. She was _finally_ home. She opened her eyes and smiled, not a shred of bitterness in her eyes. For once she was glad to be here—it wasn't a prison anymore. When she was younger, she always dreamt she'd leave and become a somebody out in the city. But after several years away from home, she missed the crashing waves of La Push, she missed the slow town. She missed being able to run freely; she missed her family and her pack. She stood, careful not to bump her head on the rack, and slipped gracefully off the plane. She didn't notice all the people turn and stare. Leah was _beautiful_, even if she didn't notice, everyone else did. She moved quickly down the hall, head turning to stare out the windows at the rich greenery of Washington.

What she wasn't expecting at the baggage claim was Sam Uley. Yeah, you heard that right. She kept her mouth closed as to not look like a fool, but on the inside she was screaming in surprise. He was fully clothed this time, but he wasn't any less alluring. The women around him vainly tried to catch his eye, but they were only for Leah. She almost froze, but forced herself to be strong and kept on moving as if it hadn't affected her. But when his hand shot out and grabbed her luggage before her, Leah couldn't help herself.

"_What. The. Hell._"

"I…" he bit his lip, clearing his throat and straightening. "I was hoping we could start over."

"Start over?" she was incredulous. "Are you shitting me?"

Foul-mouthed Leah. He smiled; it was nice to know the city hadn't changed her one bit.

"Not all over, of course, but I meant what I said in the forest, Leah. I'm in love with you, and whatever you want to do with it or me is fine. But at the very least, I want to be your friend." Leah vaguely wondered why they were having such a conversation in the airport no less, but she ignored it. That and the stares they were attracting.

"What a beautiful couple," and old woman whispered to her friend, which Leah had heard. She caught herself and tugged her luggage from his grasp and swirled away down the hall. Sam shoved his hands into his pockets and smiled again, quickly catching up to her.

"You're going the wrong way, Leah."

* * *

"Leah."

"Sam."

"I need to talk to you…" he breathed. They were standing on the beach, watching the waves roll in.

"I'm listening," Leah said.

"I need to know how you feel about me—I want to know where you intend to go with our…relationship. Because I _love_ you, Leah Clearwater." She turned her head to him, brown eyes wide and barriers still dropped. She saw he wasn't lying, and she knew he wasn't lying. She was in his head all the time, after all. She was just running from the truth. "I know you probably still don't trust me too much, but I _swear _I'll never hurt you again. I haven't since then. If I were the better man, I would stay away from you. But I'm not. I deserve to stay away, but I can't stop myself."

It was summer again, and had been a full year of recovering and repairing torn relationships and hearts. Sometimes they ran together, sometimes they talked—a full spin on the last time she'd been in La Push. She didn't hate him anymore—who was she to fool? She'd always been in love with Sam. And now, to her surprise, she wasn't running. She stared at him for several long moments, at pretty eyes and a pretty face. Did she really want to let him back in? After all, they weren't going to get any older. She had forever.

But the way Sam was staring at her now made her think. Was she willing to take a risk? He'd showed her real pain and here he was, begging for forgiveness and asking if he could have her back. Her immediate response was _no—_but it was a show of defiance and her heart's attempt at protection and revenge. She swallowed and forced herself to think beyond the boundaries. Her mouth went dry, and she knew she really did want him. The years that had passed had nullified the want for revenge somewhat; and even though she'd screamed and hurt him deeply, she wanted proper justice. But it wasn't going to happen because it would hurt her too.

There were two choices; she had to choose between the two things she desperately wanted most. She glanced back at his eyes again, and it gave her the courage to go for one. She stepped away, steeling herself.

"I don't want to be friends," she said softly. He winced. She enjoyed his pain for a brief moment—bitter Leah hadn't completely faded away. "No, no," she argued. "Not like that." Sam's head snapped up, and there was nothing but fire in his eyes. His arms lunged forward and caught her, bringing her thudding against his chest. He pressed his face into her shoulder, taking shuddering breaths and pulling her as close as possible.

God, he missed holding her like this. It was _wonderful. _He placed a chaste kiss on her shoulder, and it held promises. Leah's hands slowly traveled up his back and hugged him, he sighing unconsciously at the feel of her hands against his bare skin.

Leah's eyes wet with tears at the feeling of being in his arms again. His body was burning, and their combined heat was almost too uncomfortable. She didn't care. Sam was holding _her,_ not Emily, and that was all that mattered. For once, she could say there was no "should've been, could've been" or "would've been." They stayed there for a long while, listening to each other's breathing and the waves breaking on shore.

* * *

"Let's go home, Leah Uley."

Leah Clearwater turned to look at him in shock before shrieking.

"WHAT KIND OF HALF-ASSED PROPOSAL WAS THAT?!"

Yep.

Same old screechy, rude, ungrateful Leah.

* * *

Maybe it's too short...but I like it.

Merry Christmas :)

So henceforth concludes this threeshot. -tear, tear-


End file.
